An intermediary server receives a resource request for a requested resource from a client computer. The intermediary server responds to the resource request by initiating an interactive dialog between the intermediary server and the client computer, where the interactive dialog identifies a desired resource ability of the requested resource. The intermediary server identifies, based on responses to the interactive dialog from the client computer, an alternative resource that best meets the desired resource ability, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are a same type of resource, and wherein the interactive dialog uses an interactive exchange that interprets interactive dialog responses from the client computer in order to identify the desired resource ability and the alternative resource that best meets the desired resource ability and then instructs a resource server to send the alternative resource to the client computer.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method comprising: receiving, by an intermediary server, a resource request from a client computer for a requested resource to optimize the client computer; responding to the resource request by initiating, by the intermediary server, an interactive dialog between the intermediary server and the client computer, wherein the interactive dialog identifies a desired resource ability of the requested resource, wherein the interactive dialog is a direct machine-to-machine communication between the intermediary server and the client computer, and wherein the intermediary server interprets interactive dialog responses from the client computer in order to identify the desired resource ability; identifying, by the intermediary server and based on the desired resource ability that is identified by the interactive dialog, an alternative resource that best provides the desired resource ability, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are of a same type of resource, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are different resources that have different abilities, and wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource first affect different components of the client computer when utilized by the client computer; and in response to identifying the alternative resource, instructing, by the intermediary server, a resource server to send the alternative resource instead of the requested resource to the client computer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interactive dialog identifies the desired resource ability without relying on constraint based filtering to determine candidate versions of an offered resource to be implemented as the alternative resource.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the intermediary server, a description of how the client computer has used a prior version of the requested resource on a specific type of project in order to determine the desired resource ability of the requested resource; and directing, via the intermediary server, the client computer to install the alternative resource in order to improve operations of the client computer when performing future projects of the specific type of project.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the intermediary server, a description of a specific type of activity for which the client computer plans to use the requested resource in order to determine the desired resource ability of the requested resource; and directing, via the intermediary server, the client computer to use the alternative resource in order to satisfy the client computer when performing a future activity of the specific type of activity related to the requested resource.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the requested resource is a software component for the client computer, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, from the intermediary server, instructions to the resource server to transmit software installation instructions to the client computer, wherein the software installation instructions, when received by the client computer, cause the client computer to automatically install the software component on the client computer in order to improve operations of the client computer when performing future operations.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the software component is a new BIOS for the client computer.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the software component is a new operating system for the client computer.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the intermediary server, a table indicating that the requested resource has different possible resource alternatives and characteristics of the different possible resource alternatives; determining, by the intermediary server, through an interactive dialog, a best desired resource ability of the requested resource, wherein the best desired resource ability is based on predefined features established for the client computer, and wherein the intermediary server uses tradeoff analytics to determine a best resource for the alternative resource based on the best desired resource ability of the requested resource; selecting, by the intermediary server, the alternative resource that has the best desired resource ability as determined by the intermediary server; and issuing, by the intermediary server, a directive to the client computer to use the alternative resource in order to improve operations of the client computer when performing future tasks of a specific type of task.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the requested resource is a hardware component of the client computer, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, from the intermediary server, shipping instructions to the resource server to ship the hardware component to the client computer, wherein installing the hardware component improves an operation of the client computer.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: sending a positioning device activation signal from the intermediary server to a positioning device within an electronic device associated with the client computer, wherein the positioning activation signal activates the positioning device; receiving, by the intermediary server, a positioning signal from the positioning device that identifies a real-time physical location of the client computer; and in response to the intermediary server receiving the positioning signal from the positioning device, transmitting, from the intermediary server, a resource transmission instruction to the resource server, wherein the resource transmission instruction instructs the resource server to send the alternative resource directly to the client computer, wherein the resource transmission instruction comprises the positioning signal, a description of the alternative resource, a network address of the client computer, and a directive for the resource server to directly send the alternative resource to the client computer.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: utilizing, by the intermediary server, a known profile of the client computer to interpret the interactive dialog responses from the client computer during the interactive dialog in order to identify the resource ability that is desired by the client computer.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the intermediary server, an input by a person who will be using the requested resource, wherein the person desires the resource ability in the requested resource, and wherein the input further describes the desired resource ability in the requested resource; utilizing, by the intermediary server, a known profile of the person to interpret the input from the person in order to identify the desired resource ability that is desired by the person, and further identifying, by the intermediary server and based on the known profile of the person, the alternative resource that best provides the desired resource ability.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the intermediary server, an input by a person who will be using the requested resource, wherein the person desires the desired resource ability in the requested resource, and wherein the input further describes the desired resource ability in the requested resource; utilizing, by the intermediary server, a known profile of the person to interpret terminology used in the input from the person according to the known profile of the person; and further identifying, by the intermediary server, the desired resource ability based on an interpretation of the terminology used by the person.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resource request are processed as either an “off-track” request or an “in-track” request by the intermediary server, wherein the “off-track” request occurs when the client computer requests the requested resource while ignoring any inquiries from the intermediary server such that the requested resource is returned to the client computer, and wherein the “in-track” request allows the intermediary server to recommend the alternative resource based on responses from the client computer during the interactive dialog.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the intermediary server and the resource server are a same server.
16. A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage mediums, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more computer readable storage mediums, the stored program instructions comprising: program instructions to receive a resource request from a client computer for a requested resource to optimize the client computer; program instructions to respond to the resource request by initiating an interactive dialog between the intermediary server and the client computer, wherein the interactive dialog identifies a desired resource ability of the requested resource, wherein the interactive dialog is a direct machine-to-machine communication between the intermediary server and the client computer, and wherein the interactive dialog uses an interactive exchange that interprets interactive dialog responses from the client computer in order to identify the desired resource ability; program instructions to identify, based on the desired resource ability that is identified by the interactive dialog, an alternative resource that best provides the desired resource ability, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are of a same type of resource, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are different resources that have different abilities, and wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource first affect different components of the client computer when utilized by the client computer; and program instructions to, in response to identifying the alternative resource, instruct a resource server to send the alternative resource instead of the requested resource to the client computer.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interactive dialog comprises the client computer providing the intermediary server with a list of equipment that is monitored by the client computer.
18. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the requested resource is a software component for the client computer, and wherein the computer program product further comprises: program instructions to transmit instructions to the resource server to transmit software installation instructions to the client computer, wherein the software installation instructions, when received by the client computer, automatically install the software component on the client computer in order to improve operations of the client computer when performing future operations.
19. A computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer readable memories, and one or more computer readable storage mediums, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more computer readable storage mediums for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more computer readable memories, the stored program instructions comprising: program instructions to receive a resource request from a client computer for a requested resource to optimize the client computer; program instructions to respond to the resource request by initiating an interactive dialog between the intermediary server and the client computer, wherein the interactive dialog identifies a desired resource ability of the requested resource, wherein the interactive dialog is a direct machine-to-machine communication between the intermediary server and the client computer, and wherein the interactive dialog uses an interactive exchange that interprets interactive dialog responses from the client computer in order to identify the desired resource ability; program instructions to identify, based on the desired resource ability that is identified by the interactive dialog, an alternative resource that best provides the desired resource ability, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are of a same type of resource, wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource are different resources that have different abilities, and wherein the requested resource and the alternative resource first affect different components of the client computer when utilized by the client computer; and program instructions to, in response to identifying the alternative resource, instruct a resource server to send the alternative resource instead of the requested resource to the client computer.
20. The computer system of claim 19 , wherein the requested resource is a software component for the client computer, and wherein the computer system further comprises: program instructions to transmit instructions to the resource server to transmit software installation instructions to the client computer, wherein the software installation instructions, when received by the client computer, automatically install the software component on the client computer.
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April 29, 2016
August 4, 2020
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